Awards
In 2005, Franken was selected Best Comedian by the SF Weekly; Best Alternative to Psychedelic Drugs by the San Francisco Bay Guardian; and one of the Top 25 People to Watch nationwide by tribe.net. In late 2007, Franken was first runner-up for the Andy Kaufman Award competition in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Franken made his Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2012 with his show "Things We Did Before Reality" produced by Michael Blaha and Paul Provenza. Provenza had discovered Franken at a small theatre in Los Angeles a few years earlier. At Edinburgh, Franken received four star reviews from The Scotsman, The Guardian, The Independent, The Sunday Times, The Times of London, Chortle.com and five star reviews from Spoonfed and Three Weeks. The British Comedy Guide named his show as one of the fifteen best reviewed shows of the entire festival. This solidified Franken's decision to return to the UK to work and to live.
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